Defence Chief, Irabor, testifies at human rights panel, slams Reuters report against military

The charges of human rights crimes against the Nigerian military made by Reuters on Friday were not only surprising, but also unfounded, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, has stated.

Irabor stated this while testifying before the National Human Rights Commission inquiry panel regarding human rights abuses during military counterinsurgency operations in North-East Nigeria.

The panel was established by the commission on February 8, 2023, in response to the allegations of severe human rights breaches in the three-part report on military operations in the North-East published by amedia organisation, Reuters in December 2022.

“The allegations came as a rude shock to me. It is a rude shock to me that someone could orchestrate such a report.

”There are strange allusions, if they say we want to stop the regeneration of Boko Haram children, on what grounds?

”We are not responsible for the stigmatisation of the women who bore children by Boko Haram insurgents, we don’t know them,” he said.

He also said the involved officers should be hauled before the panel in response to Reuters’ claims that they spoke with several officers who provided them with such information concerning abortions.

Read Also: Nigerian govt responds to Reuters claims of abortion programme run by Army

“Who are the officers, I will give them immunity to come and testify before the panel on what they have alleged.

“Throughout my stay as a commander, I never heard of who are referred to as wives of Boko Haram insurgents,” he said.

He told the panel that the army worked in a hierarchical manner, there is nothing written or verbal about such programmes as claimed by Reuters.

”I never witnessed it, it is a strange allusion to the arrangement within the armed forces. We have disciplined procedures, if the officer saddled with responsibility did not report how do I know?

”The military facility under my control is open. There is nothing secretive going on there.

“Whoever will disparage the men and women of the armed forces who have put their lives in the forefront, is doing a damage.

”We are dealing with a professional armed forces,” he said.

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